Daylight

I feel brutally sunburnt. My face is hot and my eyes sting. However, this is impossible because there is practically no sun to speak of (it must be all the wind). I left the apartment today at 9:40 am in order to get to Smolny around 10, and my walk was dark). Annnnd it’s dark outside now. The blue sky did manage to say hello today, but I don’t think I’ll see too much of the sun, at least for a couple of months. Kaitlin Cunningham, you sun hater, you would love it here! 

So I plugged in and tuned out on my 20 minute walk to school. Hee hee, it sounds like I’m in kindergarden, but to be honest I kind of felt like I was as I was walking across one of the bridges over the Neva because I never walked to school before. My lovely and sleep deprived dad left work twice a day every day to take Forest, Cooper and I to school and pick us up (shout out to dad! Love you!). Anyways, along similar lines, I’ve been feeling like I’m in kindergarden on multiple levels, mainly in terms of speaking. As far as language development goes, I would say I’m maybe 4 years old? 5? Good thing I still look the same as I did when I was that age (WHATEVER I’LL BE 21 SOON AYYAYAYAYAYYYYYYY!!). 

But I digress. Once at Smolny, we were called in one by one for oral exams with the RSL professors (RSL = Russian as a Second Language). I haven’t really processed the fact that I’m in St. Petersburg yet let alone the fact that I was about to have a test, so I wasn’t really nervous. In any case, what does it matter? I can’t fake how much Russian I know. Everybody else in this program has at least a year of Russian on me if not a lot more, plus summer language intensives. I understand that I started Russian late and that I’m going to be in a lower language group. Nevertheless, I’m here to learn a lot, and as a result, I truly don’t care about whichever level I place into (unless it's 101 in which case I’ll say some very nasty things... IN ENGLISH thank you very much). 

The oral went surprisingly well. I kept my ears open for words I did know and ignored all the rest. I was so excited when I heard “blah blah bleh blah blah tell us a little bit about yourself blah blah blah,” for every once in a while my Russian professor back home Petko would point to some unlucky soul in class and ask him or her to say anything about themselves for a minute, or however long he decided. As a result, I think I was at least a wee bit  prepared to spew random facts one after the other BAM BAM BAM! I HAVE 2 BROTHERS BAM! AND ONE WHITE SMALL EVIL DOG BAM! HER NAME IS TAFFY BAM! I think I left oral exam satisfied because there wasn’t one question where I had to tell them to repeat or that I didn’t understand. It could have totally happened but if it did I didn’t notice. Ignorance is bliss :)

After the oral exam I had to take a written one. The first 2-3 pages were easy peasy, and then, oh ho ho, I found myself ON MARS. I blindly invented reasons why a, b, or c was the correct answer, but I knew this test would be very telling to my RSL professors. On page 3 or 4, at the very bottom I actually wrote, “мне трудно отвечать здесь до --------”

which translates to “It is difficult for me to answer here until ----------” and I extended this line, on the bottom of each page, until the end. I hope they find me pitifully cute. 

No matter. After that we went over the schedule (excuse me, Michael, which classes are in English??) and then we went out to lunch where we had a delicious salad which I really wish I had asked the name of, in hindsight, and a beef stew that DID NOT COOL OFF. My last bite of the damn dish burned my tongue. But then we had ice cream. And then hot tea. And then one of the RSL professors who ate with us, at my table specifically, asked me what I like to eat at home. I misunderstood and told her that I had a small white dog (weird look)... Uhhh, I play frisbee? (Laughs). Once she clarified, I smacked my hand on my forehead, laughed at myself, and told her that no, I do not love to eat my dog. 

Silly, silly Liv. Where do you think you are? China? No offense to the Chinese whatsoever, you big, powerful, communist country you. 

Later we all found ourselves at the bank. I wanted to exchange more dollars to rubles but the ATM exchange machine ate my friend Clarissa’s money right in front of my eyes, to which I was like SCREW THAT. Then we all needed to get internet modems, so we went to Megafon. Okay, so I’m not too technologically savvy. If I went to Best Buy and asked for a internet modem, and furthermore, how it works, I’m almost positive the answer still wouldn’t mean anything to me in English. Now, imagine all that in a foreign language. Yeah, poor Ivan who tried to explain the internet modem to 4 American girls. We eventually all just payed 1,000 rubles which is around $30 for a month of unlimited internet. Luckily, it works (nice job, Russia). I’m connected to the internet now, and I find that I’m breathing a lot easier (metaphorically yes). 

Deciding what to do next after Megafon, I ended up with a group who wanted to check out a mall. Clothes in Russia, unlike most things, are extremely expensive, so I didn’t really have anything I needed to get. I am in search of Sochi gear though... When we got sick of the mall (which was quite small, this one), we went to КОФЕ- ХАУС (Coffee House) where Jackie and I split a mint tea pot with honey. When we left, we bought подорожник (metro passes) and rode the appropriate trains, made the appropriate transfers, and said see you tomorrow. 

My goal for tomorrow is to find a gym. I desperately need to run. Let’s see how filling out a membership goes. I plan on telling whoever that, in this order, I speak and understand Russian badly, but I am here for 4 months and there I want a membership. Easy enough? NEVER IN RUSSIA.